


Christmas at the Potter's

by Phoenix_Fairy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Miracle, Christmas Wonder, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, James Potter - Freeform, Lily Potter - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 15:34:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13126647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenix_Fairy/pseuds/Phoenix_Fairy
Summary: It Christmas at the Potter's. They had quite a tough time not being granted with a child, so this year it's going to be a quieter Christmas than usual.But sometimes, we get lucky in moments we don't expect it.





	Christmas at the Potter's

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CMMLovr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CMMLovr/gifts).



> A Merry Christmas to you guys out there!  
> Enjoy the holidays and snack some biscuits.  
> Enjoy this Christmas story.
> 
> CMMLovr, this is my Christmas gift for you.

It was a quiet Christmas for the Potters, that year.

It was late in the evening on Christmas Eve - Lily had already gone to bed earlier- and James stood in their open kitchen, shuffling tea bags around while waiting for the teapot to whistle.  
Normally, he’d do it the quick way, but right now, he wanted the calm of making tea the muggle way.  
He was clad only in his usual winter pyjama of a patterned red and blue tartan. His dressing gown was carelessly draped over the armchair in the dining room.  
Lily wasn’t too fond of his tendency to leave clothes strewn all over the house; he would put it away later.

While the water slowly started to heat up, he could hear the popping sound of the fireplace; where warm golden flames had burned only an hour or so ago there now whispered a pile of glowing embers.  
Absentmindedly, he opened one of the tea boxes, dropping a bag of herbal tea into the blue-white striped mug on the counter. His hands came to a halt when his gaze fell on the fluffy pair of cream-white slippers.  
His own woollen slippers sat right beside them. How well a pair of tiny baby shoes would have fit between the two pairs.

It hurt to think of how it all could have been now: a tiny version of him or Lily would be sleeping one floor up; and James would gently and ever so carefully open the door to the child’s room, not so much that the noise would wake the baby, but just enough for him to watch their careless slumber, and getting lost in thoughts of the future awaiting them as a family.  
He would have done everything in his power as a father for his child. And he wondered, idly but with a small pang, whether his child would have loved flying as much as he did; whether he would ever get to see a child of his on a broom.

The whistle of the kettle rang out from nowhere, and James hastily removed it from the hob before pouring hot water into the mug and setting it aside again.  
He sighed.  
There were too many spaces that couldn’t be filled. Places where colourful toys should be strewn after a day’s playing. That corner in the living room, right next to the window, where they had planned to put a second crib.  
They had been trying for so long to expand their family. The last four years had been filled with desperate hope and too many crushed dreams (more than two people should ever fit into their hearts).  
Last year around the same time, their hope had finally turned to joy. Lily had reached the fifth week when their lives came to a screeching halt.

The world around them shattered like fragile glass.

The mediwitch had stayed with them for two days, helping to cope with the worst.  
According to her, miscarriages after the fourth week were extremely rare in the magical world, but that did not help at all, really.  
They couldn’t bring themselves to keep anything; instead, they desperately tried to remove all traces of what could have been.  
A teddy bear, bought by Lily, was shoved away, where it could no longer hurt them.

At least, they later agreed, the news hadn’t already been shared. Their pain was their own.

It took a long time for both of them to heal, and some day, around June or July, they decided that if it were to happen that it would in its own time; and if they would never experience they joys of parenthood, then it had to be so.  
Both still wanted a child, but putting all their energy into hoping, waiting, and planning the baby’s room hadn’t made the fact that they hadn’t been granted with a child any easier.  
With that decision being made, they eventually noticed a huge weight slipping from their shoulders.

And so it came that this year brought a stillness that settled on the Potters; it was not a time for grieving, but simply a quiet Christmas.

The hoarse cawing of some bird out in the night startled James. Steam no longer rose from the mug; the tea had long gone cold.  
He knew it did not well to dwell on things that could have been. With a last look out of the window and into the dark night, James turned around, leaving the kitchen as he opted instead to go to bed.

Later on, the next day - they had exchanged gifts first thing in the morning- they visited Lily’s parents. The day had been a regular one, even for Christmas.  
Normally, they’d spend Christmas day with his or her parents, but this year, they decided to spend it alone.  
Putting as many duvets and blankets on their couch as possible, they surrounded themselves with as many comfortable things as possible for the afternoon ahead.  
James went back to the bedroom to get another blanket, and was promptly buffeted by pillows on his return to the living room.  
Startled, he turned to find Lily standing before him, finally smiling, a pillow in her hands.  
Her smile quickly turned into a smirk, and it was only thanks to his quick reflexes that he was able to dodge the next blows aimed at him.

He allowed himself to enjoy the moment; they hadn’t been so light-hearted in so long. After a few minutes, Lily declared her surrender, with a resolute intent to avenge her defeat.  
Slightly sweaty, hair sticking up from her head, she dropped to the sofa in mock-exhaustion. James leaned over the back of the sofa, still chuckling, when Lily turned to him.  
“Honey, would you bring us a cup of tea? Mum got us a new kind, and I’d like to try it.”  
Nodding, he made his way to the kitchen.

Reaching for the box of tea, his hand stopped mid-act. 

Next to the kettle, a tiny broom was floating mid-air, not bigger than his hand. It had an even tinier blue bow tied to it.

He turned around, staring at Lily, who was still sitting on the sofa.  
She smiled. “I’m over eight weeks now; it’ll be a healthy boy. Not a thing in the universe can change it this time. Sometimes we get lucky in moments we least expect it, James.”

It was indeed a quiet Christmas that year for the Potters; full of warm happiness and quiet joy.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed reading this story as much as I did writing it, let me know! :)


End file.
